


Sparkle

by Peacockery



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: But it is the fluffy bro kind here, Crablets are adorable, Fluff, Maui is kind of a manchild, Maui/Tamatoa, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-20 08:56:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10659231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peacockery/pseuds/Peacockery
Summary: Tamatoa has a new, adorable little treasure to covet over. For once, Maui isn't jealous.(Updated with a little something extra.~)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little one-off I thought about earlier today, so I hope it's enough to tide over while I work on the next chapter of All That Glitters. Finally saw the movie too!
> 
> I might keep adding parts to this, if I get enough requests. :)

Once their rough history had been smoothed out, Maui found that he rather enjoyed spending his lazy days in Lalotai. The last hundred years between them was cruel to their hearts, from his partnership with the unwavering Moana to returning with his head ducked down in shame as he helped overturn the crab and explain himself for the millenia of tensions that had built.

At first, Tamatoa had been rather pissy about making amends, and rightfully so. His pride and leg had been beaten down multiple notches by the only human he had ever bothered to indulge in (as the others journeying to Lalotai had been quite delicious). They had fought and spat like unruly children once he stomped back into his lair with Maui stumbling backwards on his heels, and it had taken several more years of awkward visits with grandiose offerings from the demigod’s end to justify how truly sorry he had felt for everything.

And, eventually, Tamatoa reached a point where he finally gave in and relented. About 47 years, in fact.

Moana was getting older, as a wisened chief and journeyed sailor. While she and the demigod still had their visits, she had bigger duties and limitations now in her golden years. Mortals walked on borrowed time, but nearly half a century of bated breath was but a blink of an eye in a long-lived spirit that was Maui. It had truly wounded his heart to see her going slower despite the same crackling snap of confidence in her tone, though they still had their sailing days when she had the time and energy had allowed. She was winding down from her adventuring times, but Maui’s still persisted with the same vigor and drive that he held over a thousand years ago. It was hard to embrace, but he’s done it time and time again.

He slowly grew to miss those days though, with dear Moana. He also missed having his first best friend who can take the more powered jabs and boasts he could muster. 

So, when there were no trials of brilliance or a time to see his mortal friend, Maui slowly took to returning back to Lalotai, to rebuilt that frayed and rotting bridge that had once fostered a unique path in his life.

47 years can go fast, indeed. It felt like only days when the mirth between him and Tamatoa slowly began to foster again, invigorating his soul and smile when he saw the same warm sentiments beginning to mirror back whenever he walked strode into the dazzling lair with his proud gifts. 47 years of housework also burned at his eyes at times, for Tamatoa’s hoard was even larger and more spectacular than before. Maui welcomed him for that.

One treasure stood out to him, during one of his more recent stays. The crab had pardoned himself to indulge in a bit of scavenging, while the demigod idly reclined on a small mountain of glittering treasure. Maui had been staring up at the enchanted ceiling and lights dancing across its brim from the graceful typhoon of fish circling about. His eyes dreamily followed the reflecting beams bursting between every dark body, dancing along the smooth silted walls before casting their glowing touch onto the gleaming coins, trinkets and ivory shells scattered about the place. For a dark, horrid, neon world, Tamatoa’s sacred space was no doubt the most beautiful spot, warm and bright like an underground sun. Every little story from each unique treasure played in his head while his gaze skimmed across the immense hoard, while Maui’s smile grew wider and more tender as patches of his inner dialogue began to play out in the monster’s proud, purring voice. Tamatoa was so proud and doting over his collection, and it was so sweet to see.

But one thing caught his eye differently than the rest, and his reflecting halted. Slowly quirking a brow, Maui sat up and resettled himself after a good deal of coins and shells had slipped away from underneath his weight. He swore he had never seen that odd looking pearl, resting among the natural warmth emitted by the bioluminescent algae near the cage of bones. Curious, the demigod carefully rose and slid down the bank of gold, approaching the object as if it would crack if he were too brisk.

It was larger than a coconut, rich in reddened hues as if it had swallowed the sun’s color during a sunset. A strange color for a pearl, but the hero confirmed it surely must be. It had the same opalescent sheen coating the rich tones, shimmering and silky to look at under the many flickering lights. 

An awful, impulsive part of him yearned to touch it.

He slowly crouched down before the shape, staring at it as though it were an effigy and he was leading the worship. So strange...and yet so brilliant to look at. Where had Tamatoa found such a unique and strangely colored treasure? He swore he never saw any of the monstrous clams in Lalotai sporting such a dark colored pearl. Growing more intrigued by the second, he slowly extended his arm to get a feel; fortunately, a sharp pinch at his pec forced him to reel it back.

“Ow! Hey.” The demigod growled in annoyance while squinting at his tinier, tattooed self. The Mini crossed his arms, tapping an inky foot while shaking his head in warning.

“Oh, come on. Tama’s let me touch everything else in here.” He began to reach again, and hissed loudly when the next poke went deeper.

 

~>*<~

 

He was hoping that when Tamatoa returned, Maui could indiscreetly get a colorful story about the pearl. The crab was mad about bragging over his possessions, and even moreso when it was something new his stalks had locked onto. Once they were back to residing in the same space, Maui watched from his small pile once again, following Tamatoa as the monster shuffled around his lair to scatter new trinkets into their proper places. But he never once went close to that damned pearl, the sparkling bastard.

Huffing, the demigod switched to laying on his belly among the cool surface of the coins and shells, brows knitting in growing annoyance as the crab took his sweet maniacal time in carefully rearranging every single cursed piece to his satisfaction. Which, at this point in his life, Maui very well could have been a crumbling skeleton from how high this bar was set. When it got to the point where the monster was humming to himself while pushing a shield from A to B to A again and then maybe to F on his mental map of the space did the agitated demigod speak up.

“Anything new?” He tried to keep his tone as teeth-rottingly sincere as he could. Tamatoa twitched an antenna, and moved a claw in a fashion that resembled a shrug. 

“Oh, the same old drab crowns and swords, babe.” The crab replied dryly. He was smiling giddily to himself though, Maui just knew it from how those long whiplike feelers twitched with glee at having new jewelry to admire. Perhaps the Hero of Man was being a little too selfish.

Nah.

Sitting up, he crossed his legs and planted an elbow upon a knee, resting his chin upon a mighty fist. As eager as he was to know about the eldritch beauty of the bizarre pearl, Maui had to admit that watching Tamatoa fawning over his shinies was a rather endearing sight to behold. He understood that sentiment exactly when it came to marveling at his own tattooes. Taking a deep breath and chiding himself mentally for his manners, Maui tried again.

“Hey, I like swords! And crowns get the babes.” He clicked his tongue with a smug wink, which earned an exasperated sigh from the monster. “And don’t you snap that back to me, crab cakes.” He heard Tamatoa clicking his teeth in reluctance.

Shrugging himself, Maui chuckled lightly. “Nah, I mean anything...unique. Strange...magical?” If he was holding his fish hook, he would have given it a little wiggle with an ominous sounding coo to follow. To his great delight, Tamatoa seemed to take the bait this time. He watched the crab finally turning his head to regard the human, regarding him with a suspicious gaze.

“Unique. Strange….whimsical.” Tamatoa parroted slowly as he feigned thought while approaching. Maui shuddered a bit when he realized how quickly his old friend could easily shadow him now. “Hm....is there something that interests you?” He eyed Maui dangerously, suspicious.

It was a dangerous question.

Never take from the dragon’s lair, after all.

But, Maui stood his ground. He gave a dismissive shrug, playing it cool. “Nah, I don’t need any of this shiny stuff. I got a lot of great things up above. Good food, hot babes, endless praise…” He was idly tying his hair up in a bun as his ego was now getting a thorough stroking. “Just sayin’. Because I see some really nice and new things in here I haven’t seen before.” Suavely eyeing off to the side, he hoped his baiting worked. It didn’t.

Tamatoa was still watching him with great scrutiny, and there was no mistaking that small breathy growl of territorial whoop-ass that was impending if he kept poking jabs at the proud monster’s hoard. Even demigods needed to fight their battles wisely. With a bit of a nervous chuckle, Maui relented.

“Hey, brother, I haven’t seen _every_ treasure in this place. That would be crazy.”

“Oh yes, that’s more crazy to say than asking me to spill my secrets.” The crab slowly descended down onto the sand, mimicking the other with his chin on a tucked in claw. The way his eyes seemed to widen in challenge suggested he knew quite well what the subject was, but wasn’t intending on telling. The location where he specifically planted his body to obscure it was also another glaring hint.

Not one to step down from opposition, the demigod knitted his brows and puffed up his chest. “Don’t hide that from me! Where did you get that pearl, fish breath.”

The crab chuckled, eerily blissful despite the booming crash that his claw created when he threw it to the ground beside Maui, effectively dislodging him again from the gold pile.

“What pearl?”

That ominous clicking and soft purr which followed was going to haunt him for awhile.

 

~>*<~

Reluctantly, Maui learned to quickly give up on questioning the pearl, for every time he tried to get close or incite some subtle confession, the crab shut him down. It was just a damn odd colored pearl, for crying out loud. 

But that was the thing. It was odd. He didn’t know what it was. And he hated not knowing something juicy when it was being withheld from him.

He pulled the god damned sun out of orbit and raised mountains with his hook, and yet he can’t even get the time of day of this strange, gorgeous orb of mystical mystery? It was unfair, but then again Tamatoa had always been an ornery little shit when it came to sharing his toys. 

It took a few years, but eventually Maui’s hungerous curiosity began to wane. He paid less attention (and reluctantly so) to it whenever he paid his visits, and noticed that it vanished altogether after he strutted in one day with a opalescent shell as tribute. Tamatoa at least seemed to be in better spirits about not being hounded about his treasures, and things resumed just as they always had been. Sparring. Joking. Slumber parties on top of a sparkly crab shell. It was nice.

And then one day he noticed that Tamatoa hadn’t even greeted him when he arrived, not even to swat at the air in protest to shut up the hawk cries that the demigod was so fond of squawking out to signal his appearance. Instead, the demigod found a suspicious mountain of treasure outlined by the smooth ridges of the crab’s shell, majestically resting on top of the sandy floor of the lair. 

Tamatoa hardly ever rested during the hours that Maui arrived.

Cautious, the demigod shifted back into his human form, clutching his hook tight as he tilted his head in confusion.

“Brother?”

Of course, he didn’t get a response. And that bothered him.

But, it would be rude to wake up a sleeping behemoth. Maui planted his hook into the sand, letting it rest upright while he took a seat in front of the crab’s drinking pond near the corner. It was a wondrous crystalline pool, warm to the touch and crisp on the palette. He watched his reflection in the water, humming a soft tune to himself while picking up coins to flip towards the center.

One ripple.

Three ripples.

One strange pink reflection rippling beside his own.

Blinking, Maui glanced towards his side. He wasn’t expecting himself to squeal like a child and jolt backwards onto the sand once he saw a small pair of eyes staring directly at him.

Reasonably so, the intruder also elicited a tiny shriek as it jumped off of his hook, skittering frantically towards a propped up shield to hide behind. Maui quickly propped himself up, snatching his artifact out of the ground and stomping after the invader. Nobody intruded on _his_ crab’s lair.

Yanking the shield to the side, he readied his hook back for one powerful downward smash. But he froze up in place once he actually registered what he saw.

The tiny crab fry was shaking in its spot, little eyes staring up at the Hero of Man from their tucked in sanctuary under its small, soft shell. Feeling hot shame creeping up his nerves, Maui slowly lowered his fish hook, and placed it off to the side as he sank down onto one knee. The little monster reminded him so much of a certain scuttler, eons ago when he was just a fragile thing all alone on a highly visited beach. Instinct overpowered thought as he reached down, gently cupping his hands just underneath the tucked in claws to keep them pressed in while lifting up the creature.

“Hey, hey…I’m sorry, little buddy.” Oh, how he remembered saying those exact same words to Tamatoa, all those millennia ago. When it didn’t lash out at being handled, Maui carefully shifted his hands so that one was under its belly while the other lightly caressed along the smooth expanse of the developing shell. His heart fluttered a bit upon realizing that it seemed to be growing its own little hoard from the cave, from the looks of a tiny, single conch shell placed on top of a groove running down the back flank of the carapace.

“Heh, look at you. You’re a Tiny Toa.” He jested, overwhelmingly caught up in the adorable little purr that sounded once he started stroking one of the baby’s antennae. “But where in the depths did you come from…”

He hadn’t seen another crab monster in all of his time in Lalotai, but then again that was addressing the fact that the Realm of Monsters was a massive place. Also considering that he was holding a baby coconut crab, who had a little treasure shell of its own, right in the lair of the infamous scavenger himself...but that was way too surreal and intimate to really think about for him to accept that idea.

As he carried the little crab around, Maui tried to stave off the obvious thoughts that were burning at his cheeks by now. No no, it just had to be coincidence. Crabs had very keen senses of smell, he had long learned from experience. Surely it just crawled in after realizing that another crab was taking up residence and could easily gain a secret shelter and free meals for awhile. It was obviously too young to be a threat to Tamatoa’s spoils, though now that Maui was looking at the living mound of treasure currently in slumber, he wasn’t so sure of that. 

There was a much larger threat lurking in the room. And coconut crabs were notorious cannibals.

Concerned for the young monster’s track record of living, Maui tucked it closed to his chest, staring at Tamatoa’s shell while the baby wiggled and purred, curiously looking at his tattoos. The tickling was far too much _not_ to focus on, however, and it forced him to reluctantly turn his gaze away as the noises from the intrigued crablet became too loud to not be suspicious.

“Hey hey, watch the ink- OW!” Those claws were pointy little snippers. He held the baby out at arm’s length, trying to hush it while realizing that, from the patterns of grooves running along its underside, that he was holding a female fry. 

“I’m serious, Snippy! You’re going to become a toothpick if you don’t shut up!” He whispered harshly, but it only amused the female further. She cocked her head at the silly faces he was making, and let out a bubbly squeal of laughter a moment later. Right as Maui was cupping her mouth with his hand did all hell began to rise up in thundering awakeness from his left side.

Suddenly the tiny claw pinch to his nipple sounded far more pleasant to experience again than the look of pure seething fury that was Tamatoa’s death stare. He bared his teeth in a low snarl, which only riled up the wiggling youth more until he let out a booming bark.

“FIEFIA.”

Maui almost dropped the fry from the stare alone, though the powerful snap of tone was also an equal contender. The noise did resonate with the baby monster, however; she immediately paused and looked up at the massive elder version of herself, antennae drooping and flattening against her shell was she tucked in all of her limbs with a shaking whine. The lowly growl sent to her handler slowly brought her down to the cold earth as Maui was forced to relent under the shadowing looming force of glamorous destruction threatening to stomp his face in.

Once she realized that imitating a stone wasn’t going to get her out of the pot, she peeked out and slowly untucked herself, whining and shaking against the sand. For a moment, Maui braced himself to lunge for his hook as he watched Tamatoa lower himself towards the tiny creature’s level, but found himself staring in surprise as the ancient crustacean extended his own long antenna to gently stroke along the curves and nubs of her shell until she loosened up fully. The demigod was speechless before the two monsters as the baby purred again and stood up on the tips of her small legs, trying to rub against as much of the whiplike appendage as she could.

Tamatoa was...smiling, almost dreamily so. His massive claw slowly extended behind her until it pushed in to gently nudge her towards his chin while he lowered himself back onto the sand. Two purring beasts nuzzling in the sand, and one of them was just barely big enough to fit into one of his eyes. Speaking of which, both turned to glance at Maui with a strange sense of calmness regarding the situation.

“Mating season. Don’t ask. It’s a nightmare.”

But not all the way so, apparently, as he had no qualms with keeping the youngling up against him. And he was by no means a socially accommodating creature.

Maui kept staring until Mini delivered an ink-filled punch to his pec again. Snapping out of it, the demigod made a face as he pointed between the two, dumbly trying to register what he had literally just been thinking about only two minutes prior.

“F...Fiefia?”

Tamatoa merely smiled, glancing down briefly at the trilling bundle now scaling up his antenna.

“I said don’t ask, babe.”

What happens in Lalotai stays in Lalotai, it seemed.

“Wait…”

Mini facepalmed himself and shook his head. Maui looked down at him, watching the inkling conjure up a black sphere and pointed at it heatedly.

Sphere...oh. OH.

God damn, was he a moron. No wonder Tamatoa wanted to keep his rowdy butt away from that pearl shaped egg for the last decade.

“Fiefia…” He said again.

“Smart as ever, babe.” She was right between Tamatoa’s eyes now.

“Mating season, huh?”

“For the love of Te Fiti, drop it!”

Tamatoa was trying hard to keep his cool as Fiefia sang and flipped off random pieces of treasure from his shell.

The Trickster side was starting to wake up.

“Well, I never knew you had it in you, Papatoa.~”

Who would have thunk that his age old friend would get laid before him this century. Perhaps that shiny back did have a point.

He beamed at the defeated groan coming from the exhausted parent, but sat down again to watch the groggy crustacean tut and tease the adorable little nuisance playing around in the canoe lodged on top of his left flank.

Fiefia. The Sparkling One.

Maui mused. Perhaps even the Light of Lalotai, even.

    

    

   


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thought of a little something extra! I agree, Fiefia is a cutie patootie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also very short, I apologize!

Maui loved watching the two monsters, whenever he had free time to visit.

It never had struck him in a thousand years, of the thought that his narcissistic, antisocial titan of a companion had gone out and successfully wooed another monster to the point of siring new life. But he should have known better; Tamatoa was an avid collector of attractive, priceless and unique things. The pride of creating a likeness in his image was perhaps the most guarded and beloved member of his glittering, dazzling horde.

Fiefia was so small and innocent for a cruel place like Lalotai. Maui had to admit though, that her purity and charm was a light of its own in her impact on the titanic monster.

Tamatoa was many things, but beyond his pride he was above all protective and doting. The ancient monster was tucked in against the sand, lazily watching his daughter as she scuttled around along the sandy floor of the lair, idly curling an antenna around her to encourage more of those bubbly little squeals from her. Fiefia seemed to be thinking that she was too agile for her daddy’s grasp, bouncing with glee whenever the corded appendage slacked enough to allow her escape.

Maui too was lounging idly, legs crossed and chin propped up serenely on an upturned palm as he slouched. An amused, dreamy smile painted across his features as he quietly observed. Witnessing a monster rearing its young was unheard of in the human world, so it was another brilliant treasure that he more than willingly gave Tamatoa all the joy to cherish in secret. The crab deserved it; he seemed so much shinier these days, in both attitude and act.

“She takes after you.” The demigod chuckled lightly.

Fiefia had ceased in scampering away from the attacking whip and now was rearing back to try snipping at it. Such a valiant effort, even if it made the larger monster chuff. Or perhaps that was Tamatoa reacting to the human.

“Gorgeous, brave and confident?” he purred, trailing his antenna behind the crablet, who nearly stumbled over her many legs as she tried to keep up with its twirling dance. Maui’s nose wrinkled when her stubborness overcame her and she managed to somehow trip herself onto her back.

“Heh, yeah. Something like that.”

He was about to get up to assist, but rolled back into his seat when a giant claw came to the rescue. For an eldritch sized crab of titanic strength, he was nothing but gentle in carefully scooping up the sand underneath her to give a little push to her balance. Eventually, the tiny monsterling was back on her little limbs, and she trilled in victory while throwing her arms up. She did it!

“She’s already amassing her own dazzling collection,” Tamatoa rumbled proudly while he pointed at a spot where she dropped one of her little shells, “Just look at those shiny ivory beauties.” While dad collected all things gold, Fiefia preferred to go klepto for more natural trinkets. She rushed over to the abandoned conch, clumsily scooping it up in her claws. She grunted and started to teeter in place as she attempted to coordinate her eyes and arms to the proper space for her treasure to return; Tamatoa watched sagely, but did not interfere. Likewise, Maui shook his head in fond amusement.

“That she is. Give her a few hundred years and she’ll be going after other ivory.” He patted the mighty fish hook that lay beside him while Tamatoa rolled his eyes. They looked a bit heavier than usual, no doubt heavy with lack of sleep- it was hard to scavenge and parent at the same time, which was frustrating. But at least she was beginning to foster the same enthusiasm of their people. Perhaps the demigod was right, as annoying as his teasing was. What would she be like, in a few hundred years? A thousand?

As old as he?

Drawing his claws back in, Tamatoa rested his chin upon one, lost in thought as his gaze followed his daughter. Hard to believe...he originally had despised how quickly he had fallen into the temptation of mating season in Lalotai, driven forth from his lair when the building heat and frustrations became too much this time to ignore. The sight of the eggs in the sand afterwards had sent a cold rush of terror through his guarded flesh once his sated consort for the night had dragged herself away, leaving the fate of their efforts to a dark and dangerous world. At first, Tamatoa fell back on old tics and left, spurred forth to return to the comfort of his home and away from the bother of socializing with the neighbors...but the strangest feeling of heat returned to him once he had made the halfway mark of his trek. It wasn’t a physical feeling...but more of a guilty one. He too had been born alone and afraid in a strange world, with the grand fortune of being held up in the protective hands of a merciful soul that was now his most beloved (and only) friend. 

When he had returned, ragged and out of breath from his hasty heel-turn, he remembered his antennae drooping at the sight of the ravaged sand clutch. Something else had been interested in the affair, though it was sloppy in finishing the job. Amid the disaster zone of broken egg cases and clawed earth lay one egg, undisturbed.

He once convinced himself that it was just the scavenger and shiny enthusiast in him, as he carefully took the deep red orb into his mouth and began to quietly retrace his path.

That night of insane decisions had led to many more of frustrations and grumbling protection, but every one of them was worth it now that he got to witness his ultimate little treasure.

His dreamy smile had returned when Fiefia took notice of his quiet state, and crawled over to investigate. She bonked her head against his claw and gave it a vigorous nuzzle of pure adoration, to which he parted his massive pincers to lower his face for a more proper exchange of affection.

“Perhaps she is taking after me.” He finally agreed, closing his eyes and listening to the sweet little purrs of the tiny monster digging a spot in the ground between his right claw and cheek. Maui had moved by this point too, filling up the space on the other side. He crossed his arms behind his head and reclined against the cool smoothness of the limb propping up his back. Looking at Fiefia burrow reminded fondly of all those eons ago, when he was but a young one himself watching a certain crustacean mimicking the nesting habits in the sand.

“Gotta hand it to you, crab cakes. You know how to make a work of art.”

He could listen to Tamatoa’s purring chuckle for all eternity.

“I’ve picked up some tricks along the way, babe.”


End file.
